§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his assessment is of the efficacy of drug treatment and testing orders in(a) reducing drug consumption and (b) reducing participation in criminal activity, expressed as a percentage of UK drug use and crime totals. [2383]
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§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 9 July 2001]: It is too early for an assessment of the effect of the order on drug misuse and crime since roll-out in October 2000. Evaluation of the pilots run under the management of the Merseyside, south-east London and Gloucestershire probation services found that the average amount spent on drugs by offenders subject to drug treatment and testing orders fell from £400 per week in the period before arrest to £25 per week in the early stages of the order and the number of crimes committed by such offenders fell from an average of 137 offences in the month before arrest to around 34 per month after only six weeks on the order. A reconviction study will be carried out in due course.
§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his assessment is of the continuing effects of the drug treatment and testing orders pilot scheme undertaken in Croydon, Liverpool and Gloucester. [2384]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The independent evaluation of the three pilot schemes found that those who had completed or were nearing the completion of the order at the end of the evaluation period reported that they had stopped offending and in nearly all cases were drug free, except for cannabis use. A reconviction study will be carried out in due course.
Following successful pilots, the drug treatment and testing order was rolled-out to courts throughout England and Wales on 1 October 2000. Latest figures available show that between October 2000and May this year, over 1,750 orders have been made. The pilot evaluation has informed the development of a national standard and related guidance for the implementation of the order.